Roadway for toy electric vehicles



A. E. CULLEN July 18, 1939.

ROADWAY FOR TOY ELECTRIC VEHICLES Original Filed March 27, 1936 INVENTOR WWW 5M ATTORNEY5 Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFiCE Original application March 27, 1936, Serial No. 71,236. Divided and this application Septem her 1, 1937, Serial No. 161,892

2 Claims.

This invention relates to roadways for toy electric vehicles and is a division of my copending application Serial No. 71,236, filed March 27, 1936.

One of the primary objects of my invention is the provision of a sectional roadway for toy electric vehicles in which the roadway is adapted to supply the electric current in a novel manner.

Another object of my invention resides in the provision of a roadway for toy electric vehicles which is provided with electric conductor means adapted to effect guiding and steering of the vehicle.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a roadway for toy automobiles having a plane road surface over which the wheels of the automobile travel in the usual manner of automobiles and having longitudinally extending electric conductor means constructed to effect guiding and steering of the automobile.

Another object resides in the provision of a road section and electric connector means of novel construction.

How the foregoing together with such other objects and advantages as will hereinafter appear or are incident to my invention are realized, is illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a more or less diagrammatic plan View illustrating a portion of a roadway constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a section of the roadway;

Figure 3 is a cross-section through a section of the roadway illustrating the application of an electric connector, the section being taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of Figure 3 with a portion of the road surface broken away;

Figure 5 is a cross-section through a section of roadway of modified construction, the section being taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 6; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary logitudinal section of the form of my invention illustrated in Figure 5, the section being taken on the line 66 of Figure 5.

In Figure l I have illustrated a portion of a roadway comprising a plurality of road sections A connected together endwise; an electric motor driven automobile B a source of electric current such as a battery C; and a connector D for making the electric connections between the battery and the roadway.

The track sections A are preferably constructed of sheet metal and each comprise a plane road surface I0, side Wall portions H provided with flanges l2 for securing the sections to a platform or the like, a longitudinally extending groove 13 preferably located centrally of the section, an electric conductor l4 located in said groove and substantially coextensive therewith, and means such as pins 15 for connecting the sections together. The road surface l0 may be roughened and artificially colored to imitate concrete or dirt roads by a metallic substance that will conduct electricity.

The groove I3 is formed by bending the metal of the section in the form of a U in cross section and'the conductor i4 is electrically insulated therefrom as by means of a U shaped insulator l6 coextensive with the groove. In this instance a U-shaped metal member I1 is located between the insulator l6 and the conductor i l. The conductor projects from the end of the groove as illustrated at l8 in Figures 1 and 2 so as to serve as a connecting pin. At its other end the conductor ends short of the end of the groove so that the projecting end of the conductor of the adjacent section may be received by the groove. It will be noted that the metal member I! serves to make an electrical connection between the conductors of adjacent sections so that it is not necessary for these conductors to come into end to end contact.

The conductor l4, insulator l6 and member I! may be secured in the groove in any suitable manner for example by providing a bulge as shown at H! to prevent their displacement. The members may be inserted from the end of the groove or since they are somewhat yieldable the insulator l6 and member I! may be inserted from the top of the groove and the conductor I4 forced in from the top with a snap action.

In Figures 1, 3 and 4 I have illustrated an electrical connector D attached to one of the sections comprising a base plate 20 of insulating material such as fiber, a pair of terminals 2| and 22 to which wires 23 and 24 leading from the battery C are connected, clip means 25 adapted to have snap engagement with the conductor I4, clip means 26 having snap engagement with the side of the section, a conductor 2! leading from the terminal 2| to the clip means 25, and a conductor 28 leading from the terminal 22 to the clip means 26. As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 the groove [3, insulator l6 and member H are slotted to expose the bottom of a portion of the conductor for snap engagement of the clip 25. Since the members l4 and I I are in contact with each other, the clip 25 may have snap engagement with the member I1 instead of the member I4 in which case only the groove and insulating material would be slotted. The bottom of base plate 20 is made flush with the bottom of the road section by providing a recess Ila in the flange l2 of the section.

It will be seen from the foregoing that one side of the battery C is connected to the conductor H by wire 23, conductor 21 and clip 25 and that th other side of the battery is connected to the roadway by wire 24, conductor 28 and clip 26. A controlling switch 29 may be included in the circuit as indicated in Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, I have illustrated a toy automobile such as shown in my above-mentioned co-pending application applied to the roadway, which automobile is provided with a roller 43 adapted to run in the groove l3 of the roadway for steering and guiding purposes and also to pick up electric current for the motor of the automobile by contact with the conductor I 4.

The wheels of the automobile are provided with rubber tires to run on the road surface in the usual manner of automobiles. In order to complete the electric circuit for the motor a metallic member or disc 45 is associated with one of the rear wheels of the automobile to have contact with the metal surface of the roadway.

In Figures 5 and 6 I have illustrated a roadway and electric connector of modified forms In this instance the electric conductor Ma is in the form of a flat strip fitting the groove and projecting above the road surface I and insulated from the groove by a U-shaped insulator "a. The electric pick up is by means of a forked member 47 carried by the front truck of the automobile and having a pair of guiding or steering rollers 48 engaging the sides of the conductor. In this instance I have shown flat pins 49 for connecting the sections together and the projecting end portion Nb of the conductor I la is adapted to contact with the adjacent end of the conductor of the adjacent section. U-shaped metal members similar to the members I"! above-described may be employed to ensure a good electrical connection between adjacent conductors.

As shown at Me in Figure 6 a portion of the conductor Ma is bared for reception of the connector 50 which is provied with a clip 5| having snap engagement with this bared portion, a clip 52 having snap engagement with the side Wall of the road section and terminals for the connection of the electric wires in the manner described above.

Referring to the form of road section illustrated in Figure 2 in which the conductor 14 is set below the road surface this is particularly advantageous because it prevents short circuiting by metal objects being place on the roadway or by the automobile if it should for some reason sway excessively.

While I have only illustrated straight and curved road sections it is to be understood that these sections may take other forms to provide crossings, tangential road intersections and the like.

I claim:

1. A sectional toy roadway for toy electric automobiles, each section comprising a flat sheet metal road surface having a groove therein extending longitudinally thereof, an electrical conductor in said groove extending substantially for the full length of the section, a second electrical conductor contacting said first mentioned conductor and projecting from one end of the section and terminating short of the other end of the section and means insulating said conductors from the groove.

2. A sectional toy roadway for toy electric automobiles, each section comprising a fiat sheet metal road surface having a groove therein extending longitudinally thereof and of U-shape in cross-section, insulation in said groove extending for the length thereof and of corresponding U- shape in cross-section, an electric conductor of U-shaped cross-section fitting said insulator, and a second electrical conductor fitting said U- shaped conductor and projecting from one end of the section. v

ALBERT EDWARD CULLEN. 

